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An apology for a bus stand
Rise in cancer cases in Kashmir
Ban on stapling currency notes being flouted |
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Solar greenhouses in Ladakh
Bhaderwah Campus
Crash course in heritage conservation
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An apology for a bus stand
Jammu, March 17 The bus stand is housed in a congested area. Entry and exit from this chaotic place is a nightmare. It just springs up from nowhere amidst a buzzing market. Outsiders can certainly get confused. Not only this, the bus stand is thickly surrounded by a sea of shops, which have been allowed to occupy all possible vacant place around it. It seems that the authorities have given a free hand to vendors who squat close to the buses while selling fruits, without realising that the place is meant for the movement of buses and passengers. Besides this, a big and open sewerage passes through it. The pungent stench emanating from the drain, which is clogged with heaps of garbage, has made the life miserable here. Ironically, some food outlets (dhabhas) are stationed on the banks of this drain. “Since most of the toilets are shut or in bad condition for long, commuters use open drain for this purpose. With mosquitoes and insects germinating in drain and strong stench emanating, one can well imagine the hygiene of food passengers eat,” rues Santosh, a tourist from Gujarat. Toilets here are out of order since time immemorial. To add to the misery they overflow continously. Shanti Devi, a passenger complains, “How can we use toilets overflowing like this? Sulabh shauchalaya provides a little better facility but they charge Rs 5 per person. Even for that, we have to stand in long queues”. “Manholes all over the bus stand are either broken or have defective lids from which sewer water oozes out”. Frustration among employees working there round-the-clock is evident as Rampal, a booking clerk complains, “I am ill for three months as I got infected from the exposed sewerage of the manhole which lies under my chair. Despite this, we have no option but to work here. We have tried to plug the holes in our rooms with waste tickets but of no help”. It is a horrible sight to see the condition of sanitation at the bus stand with litter scattered all around. Most of the tube lights, bulbs and fans are missing. Due to the paucity of benches, commuters have to sit on ground with their luggage. If this is not enough, the roofs and walls are leaking, plaster and white wash has chipped off. The record lying in sacks, which is thrown in a corner, is rotting. The only dispensary at the bus stand has no signboard and hardly visited by doctors. The bus stand carries no signboards about destinations and bus schedules. One can easily miss the bleak booking rooms without any signboard. The chaos here has much to do with private buses which contribute largely to the entire mess, as private transporters run their buses from the same bus stand where the buses from SRTC is being operated. Bad roads in and around bus stand add to its sorry state of affairs.
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Rise in cancer cases in Kashmir
Srinagar, March 17 According to the Cancer Society of Kashmir (CSK), a charitable organisation established by doctors, there are 35,000 patients in the valley at present of whom one third are chronic. The CSK was established in 1999, with a view to create awareness about the dreaded disease, its causes and to promote its early detection and treatment. It has 80 life members, including doctors and others drawn from all walks of life. The CSK concentrates on public awareness programmes and free screening camps in the first phase. An interactive programme organised by the CSK here recently dwelt upon various factors, including the causes that leads to cancer. Doctors associated with the CSK lamented that most of the poor people suffering from the disease were not able to bear the huge expenses. They said the CSK was working for providing assistance to those who could not afford treatment expenses. They also sought funding from the affluent class to help the cause. The society is also working for acquiring land for the construction of a cancer hospital in the valley. According to Dr Showkat A Zargar, head of the gastroenterology department of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar, there were many causes of increased number of cancer patients in the valley. These patients mostly suffered from cancer of stomach and food pipe mainly because of genetic and environmental factors, said Dr Zargar, a member of the CSK. He added that the average consumption of salt by an individual daily was 16 g against the normal consumption of 6-7 g per day, the “namkeen chai” being the main factor. Other factors included smoking and the lack of sufficient intake of vegetables and fruits. Presently, the CSK is concentrating on various programmes, including public awareness camps in educational institutions with the participation of eminent doctors, mass screening programmes and free endoscopy camps in the remote areas, dependable and authentic diagnostic facilities at its diagnostic centre, free multispeciality oncology clinic, and financial assistance for chemotherapy to poor patients. It has so far conducted 70 public awareness programmes with 18 free screening camps, where 4,435 patients were screened. It has also conducted 915 free endoscopies in these camps in which 125 patients, comprising 13.66 per cent, have been found positive for cancer. Other procedures for early detection are being conducted at its diagnostic centre at Lal Mandi, Srinagar. As a step forward in achieving the objective of the society, a free oncology and multispeciality clinic for cancer patients was started in February last year. The doctors said the facility of multispeciality oncology clinic, the essence for the management of cancer patients, was inadequate in the state. |
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Ban on stapling currency notes being flouted
Jammu, March 17 People involved in the traditional business of sale of money garlands are running this trade for the past several decades and are doing their business as usual. These days, they are witnessing brisk sale of money garlands due to the ongoing marriage season. A number of currency garland shops are located in City Chowk, Canal Road, Talab Tillo, Janipur and Parade. Besides, these shops have also come up in every locality near banquet halls. Despite the ban, the shopkeepers do not bother to stop deforming the currency notes. According to them, no proper authority has approached them to stop the sale of these garlands. Raju Kumar, a shopkeeper at Talab Tillo, said, “I am doing this business for the past many decades. I purchase currency notes from banks by paying 5 per cent extra”. In fact, there is a lack of awareness among the people regarding the ban as it has not been properly notified or advertised by the RBI. People who purchase currency garlands have no knowledge about the ban. During celebrations, particularly wedding parties, presenting money garlands and showering of currency notes continue unhindered. “I do not know that there is a ban on it. To demonstrate our love and affection towards the newly wed couple, we prefer to present currency garland to them,” said Dazy Gupta, a resident of Indira Chowk. Though it is surprising that the director, RBI, Jammu, OP Agarwal do not consider it as serious issue, he said it was impossible for the bank authorities to reach every nook and corner of the city to stop this violation. Agarwal said, “If needed we will involve local police for enforcing the ban but it is not a serious issue for which we can penalise the people. The ban imposed by the bank is a moral ban and people should themselves show their respect for the currency”. He appealed to the people that they should not staple the currency notes, fold them or write upon them because it reduces the life of currency notes. “Such actions deface bank notes and shorten their life. Bank notes should be respected as they are a symbol of sovereignty,” said Agarwal. He said they had disseminated awareness among the people through print and electronic media that stapling currency notes was banned and with a view to reduce the number of people buying garlands, they would soon replace the 10 rupee note with a coin. |
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Solar greenhouses in Ladakh
Leh, March 17 Farmers have been successfully growing cabbage of acre, arun, kaveri, champion, empire and cauliflower of shanta, himant variety that used to be transported from the plain areas of the country earlier. Agriculture scientist Dorjay Wangchok of the Defence Institute of High Altitude of Research, a unit of DRDO in Leh, said, “Some of the exotic vegetables that include sennel, assparages, leek, pakenoi, brussen sprout, endive, shallot, cherry tomato, savoy cabbage and kele have been successfully grown in the region by the farmers.” The low summer temperature in Ladakh makes it possible to grow the winter crops grown in rest of the country. This green revolution is a boon to the Army posted at the line of control in Ladakh, who meet their vegetables requirement through the means of negotiated contracts signed between the defence secretary and the cooperative marketing societies (CMS) of the farmers. President P Wangchuk said, “CMS meets over 50 per cent vegetables requirement of the Army and saves about 12 crore of defence money. The Army have to spend more in transportation from Chandigarh. Over the recent years, the Defence Ministry has been urged to include in the contract wheat and barley for fodder for the animals of the Army.” In the winter months, during which the mercury dips below minus 30 degree celsius, farmers succeed in farming by growing leafy vegetables like spinach in the solar-based polythene greenhouses. District agriculture officer, Leh, Thinless Dawa said, “Propagated from Tibet, there are three designs of greenhouses that have flourished in the farms and commercial greenhouses and are presently promoted among the farmers.” Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council provides subsidy of Rs 80,000 to the farmers to establish greenhouses on their land. “With the help of the commercial greenhouses, vegetables during the off-season are available locally. One of its main benefit is the extension of the vegetable availability a month before in autumn and advancement by one month in spring. While the open-field vegetables survive only up to September. Tuber vegetables are available in July and August,” Dawa added. The commercial greenhouse technology has been adopted by the Army for the promotion among the farmers in Ladakh under operation ‘sadbavana’. The district agriculture officer, Leh, said, “The Army has identified 16 progressive farmers to provide subsidy of greenhouses.” President, Cooperative Marketing Society, Phunstog Wangchuk said, “Many of the progressive farmers in the central Ladakh have also started to grow garlic in the winter months. Presently, our effort is to get a seed certifying agency in the region, for which some kind of initiative has been taken. This winter, Hyderabad-based seed company beejo sheetal seed production trained 11 progressive farmers of Ladakh in Hyderabad on the seed production technology.” |
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Mother hopes to get back missing son
Azmatabad (Rajouri), March 17 Shafiq is one among the 27 persons who had gone missing from Rajouri district since 1990's. A majority of the missing persons are teenagers in the age group of 10-15. For the past six years, Gulzar Begum has been hoping that her son will be back. She is presently taking care of her two sons and a daughter in the absence of her husband Munir
Hussain, who is in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad Shafiq (then 12-year-old), resident of Chakoori in
Azmatabad, was a student of class VIII of Government High School here. Even though he was suffering from some psychiatric problem, his family had been providing him best possible medical care with a hope that he will recover soon. While he was responding to the treatment and even showed signs of recovery, on March 23, 2003, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances. "He had gone to attend his elder brother's marriage. The last we heard about him was that after having dinner at the bride's house, he was on his way back," Begum said. "Initially, we thought he might have gone to some relative's house. Three days later, we lodged a missing report at Thannamandi police station. Even the police tried its best to locate him, but failed". Begum, who ruled out that Shafiq might have been lured by militants to join some outfit, said he was timid and would not go out alone at night. "He was a timid boy and even used to ask me to accompany to bathroom outside. He was a very shy child and wouldn't trust anyone easily," said Begum, who after the disappearance of her son has not been keeping well. "Even though our relatives and neighbours keep on saying that he will not return and might have been killed, I tell them that I will die only after I see him and hope that one day he will be back home". A senior police officer at Thannamandi said in a majority of the cases where persons had gone missing in the area, they had either crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK) for arms training or their whereabouts were not known. |
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Bhaderwah Campus
Udhampur, March 17 Established in the year 2006 in a rented accommodation, the state-of-the-art campus at Sungli Bhaderwah was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on 26th May, 2008. The campus is located in a picturesque environment with Asha Pati glacier in south-east and Kaplash Mountain in the south-west and the Neru River flowing in the east. The dense coniferous forests covering the mountainous ranges and the lush green terraced paddy fields all around the summer makes this university campus one of the most serene campuses. “The university authorities have added to this beauty by establishing rosaceous fruit orchards with the different varieties of high-density apples and a beautifully landscaped tulip garden. This activity will be beneficial for the campus in two ways,” said Rector Bhaderwah campus IA Hamal. First of all it will make the campus eco-friendly that means it will become ecologically stable with least disturbance to the nature and second benefit to the campus will be that it will provide economic incentives in future, he added. University Grants Commission (UGC) team, during its recent visit of to Bhaderwah campus for the 11th plan assessment, has expressed that in near future the campus will not only become an important knowledge hub for the remote, hilly and backward areas of the erstwhile Doda district but would also cater to the academic growth of the youth of the adjoining areas of Kathua, Udhampur districts and even Himachal Pradesh. However, this will become possible only when inter-state road connectivity between Bhaderwah and Chamba becomes operational, besides the road connectivity between Bhaderwah-Bani-Basholi. During his recent visit to Bhaderwah campus, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, Varun Sahni appreciated the eco-friendly concept of the campus and hoped that in the near future the campus will emerge as an excellent centre for the academic activities. |
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Crash course in heritage conservation
Jammu, March 17 Institute for heritage studies situated at Rehari has taken the unique initiative and as a part of the programme, it has been introducing as many as 15 courses. These courses having six month duration and would be free of cost. They have been scheduled to be started from May this year. “The grandeur of our cultural heritage is fast withering away and the departments were not doing their job that is why we had to take this initiative,” said cultural activist and secretary of the NGO Kripal Singh. He said the organisation runs summer as well as winter schools with specific courses regarding art and culture. “The summer school includes subjects, including museology, archaeology, archives and preservation,” he revealed. “We have been holding such courses from time to time but this year the courses would be more organised,” he said. The courses include archival studies, care and preservation of old record, objects, monuments, history and heritage management, care of ancient books and libraries, wall paintings and their preservation, ancient building material, archeology, art appreciation, natural heritage, heritage photography, heritage and tourism, heritage of Jammu and heritage of the water
bodies. He said such courses could be arranged in any institution on the demand of the students or the administration of the institution. “The course holds immense significance for the students as well as the art lovers, averred Singh. “There is strong need to promote
historical tourism. Jammu can be developed as a heritage tourism market by advancing
historic preservation. The state government should devise some policy to replenish the rich legacy of historic resources in state,”
he added. |
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Digging of roads causes inconvenience I want to draw the attention of the authorities towards the constant digging of roads in the city. On every second road, the workforce is either digging the road or covering it up to lay phone lines or water pipes. People suffer as the roads get blocked till the repair goes on. Even when the work comes to an end, the roads become totally shapeless and uneven, as the department concerned does not bother to check whether the road has been properly levelled or not. Not only this, the roads are left with broken patches. The callousness on the part of the government is not only spoiling the beauty of the city but also making it inconvenient for commuters. Many people are meeting with accidents because of this lapse. Dr Veena
Vashishth Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at jk@tribunemail.com or write in at: Letters, J&K Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030.
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